Therapy xTo Far Awayx
by xxneirxx
Summary: ... Al's body, mind and soul are lost. Forever.... Ed's mind too has left him. How will Winry, Roy & Pinako handle this situation? Soul therapy for Edward... a place far away... Will he be healed? Edited, and chapter 12 up.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

* * *

The calm morning wind blows in through the doorway, left open always in the case of any emergency. He shakes the hair out of his eyes, and steps through.

"Ed…" He whispers.

No response. As usual. The lone figure sitting up in bed didn't even stir. 'As still as stone as ever', the whisperer sighs to himself. He walks to the one called Ed, and sits on the bed. Ed moves just the slightest, tilting his head to the right, in a way, acknowledging the presence.

Roy sighs again. He places the basin of water on the floor, picks up and wrings the towel dry, and proceeds to clean Ed's face, part of the daily wake-up routine.

He wipes across the boy's eyes, which portrays nothing but dark emptiness. Even the gold has lost its shine.

They are utterly blank.

---------

_In places new and unknown_

_Can pain truly be forgotten?_

_Can sin entirely be erased_

_Or will it linger and burn?

* * *

_

A.N: To all dear readers, this story is now being edited [all chapters] for slight errors and minor events that I'd like to change. Now it's being proof-read by me. And I hope that the edits will make reading easier for all. [20/05/09]


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

Roy walks out onto the porch, where the scenic view of mountains, forests and winding streams lay at his feet, calling to him. And it appears he is not alone.

Upon the bench, which he had placed there a few days before, sits a girl not much older than Ed. Her blonde hair catches and reflects in the soft morning rays. Roy approaches as her shoulders lift and sag – a sigh.

"Winry… May I…?" he points to the empty spot beside her. Winry lifts her head in surprise.

"Oh, didn't notice you there, Sir."

Roy grimaces. "Please, you can drop the 'sir'." He smiles, though rather sadly.

"Ye-yes, Si—I mean; Yes, Mustang."

"_Roy_. Call me Roy. Seeing as we four are all going to live as a family, all these formalities are silly and seriously uncalled for."

The edges of Winry's mouth slightly curl, but no sooner after that they droop and she turns back to face the mountains. "I guess you are right about that…" With that, her shoulders bunch even more, as she huddles to herself on the wooden bench.

Roy gives her a knowing look, then stands up to lean against the metal railings of the porch.

"… … Still thinking about it? It's kinda pointless, you know."

Winry faces her knees. Not lifting her head, she speaks into them, sounding somewhat muffled.

"… Pointless as though it seems… I just can't help… I just don't believe…"

She turns to Roy, one tear already cascading down her cheek.

"Why? Al… Now Ed too! And yet… and yet… It's like… me too, I don't believe that… that…"

"…That Al is gone?" Roy screws his eyes shut against the flow of mental images in his eyes, but turns to Winry.

"You just have to accept it Winry. It's easier that way. Al may be gone (Winry sniffs) but we still have Ed—"

"—But look at him! It's almost like not having him—"

"—That's why we have to work on him now! Winry, you can't just give up Ed because Al is no longer with us. Ed NEEDS us. He needs us, all the more, with Al gone. We have to try and take Al's place in Ed's heart."

Roy sits back down beside Winry and places a hand on her shoulder.

"…You DO want Ed cured, right?"

Winry blinks; she looks up at Roy, and gives a wane smile.

"…You got that right, Mu—er, Roy." She turns back to the greenery. A wind sweeps across her face. Taking a deep breath, her face clears. She feels better.

Roy, on the other hand, faces the same view, except his view is clouding with teeming images of what happened; he remembers it all: the pain, the horror.

All the redness, both blood and Stone alike, mixed together. Flashes of red light.

"Roy?"

He looks up from the rose bushes just below their feet in the garden; he turns to Winry with an apologetic look on his face.

"Sorry," he says, "I must have zonked out too. The moving here has really tuckered me out."

Roy gets off the bench again, and just in time too – a voice floats out to both of them from the kitchen.

"Breakfast's done! Come in quick before it gets cold!"

Winry gets up too, and gives herself a stretch. Her shoulders are more on less back to their original position, and she gives a hearty call, "Coming, Granny!" and turns to Roy.

"Come on; I still have to feed Ed, and after that we take him for the walk. It's your turn to clear the dishes, too. Granny isn't getting any younger."

As she walks down the step and out of the porch, Roy wonders if his ears were playing tricks on him, or that he really heard the false cheeriness in Winry's voice back then.

000 0 000 0 000

About half an hour later, while Roy washes the dishes in the kitchen, Winry is back in the room with Ed. There have been slight improvements at least. Today, for instance, Ed managed to chew the food properly before swallowing (in the beginning he couldn't swallow; then started to swallow WITHOUT chewing), and that he was able to look (turning slowly) back at Winry to seemingly ask for the next spoonful. The more she thinks about it, the more she thinks that the doctor is wrong: Ed CAN be healed. Winry feels more positive towards the whole thing. It is only a matter of time. After all, Ed's appetite hasn't died down.

Winry buttons the last button on Ed's shirt, kneels in front of him, eyes washing over him. He's ready to go out.

She reaches out and lays her hand over his left, the flesh hand for which she knows he can feel; sure enough, his hand tingles slightly from the touch.

"Ed, it's time for us to go out now. Are you ready?"

It takes a while, but Ed finally responds; at the mere inclination of his head, Winry slowly stands up and grasps his hand more firmly. Little by little, Ed moves his feet; shuffling his left first, metal scraping the floor, then moving his right, stumbling slightly. They were time-consuming, painfully slow-going shuffles.

Winry doesn't mind. She doesn't even frown, but smiles. Ed moves slowly towards the door, Winry by his side. However, Ed, almost totally oblivious to what goes on, misses a tear running down her cheek, and continues moving subconsciously down the stairs, with Winry there at every step of the way.

000 000 000 000

_Of feelings, emotions_

_and memories locked,_

_My friend, my Brother,_

_It's YOU I've lost.

* * *

_

A.N. Edited this chapter for the sake of better flow. [20/05/09]


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

Outdoors was always pleasant for all, including Edward. In the week that they had shifted to this new residence, there was a noticeable change of moods for Roy, Winry and Ed as well. Both of them, Roy and Winry, saw to great contentment, that as they allowed Ed to roam the grassy slopes that lead down to the channels and channels of clear, running water, he started gaining a part of himself… albeit bit by bit. Watching him from a short distance, the former militant and mechanical apprentice soon found themselves beginning to relax – the streams were really working on them.

As for Ed, he now walked at a slightly faster speed, though still considerably at a slow pace. He brightened up, just a little, as he felt the grass on his feet. He roamed a little more, and stumbled upon sand, closing in on the flowing water. Motionless, he stared as the water rushed by in front of him. And, having the sudden instinct to touch the running stream, he slowly squatted, and in a period of two minutes, calmly glazed into the water.

Without warning, his hands flew out and plunged into the stream – sending splashes of cool water onto his face. Roy and Winry, who were in deep conversation, sitting on the grassy slope, looked up in alarm at the sudden noise.

Hurrying to his side, Winry and Roy splashed into the water, standing in front of Ed to check whether he was alright. To their utter amazement, there was a slight curl at the edge of the boy's mouth – the hint of a smile. Both exchanged astonished looks. Ed's hands have not stopped – they were moving slowly through the water, wrist deep. Occasional drops of water from his hair fell back into the stream: he was more soaked than expected.

Taking a small face towel from her belt, Winry mopped his face dry, then moved to his hair. His shirt she could do nothing about; considerably damp, it was spreading the dampness to the pants. Sighing in relief and exasperation at the same time, she motioned to Roy to help her pick Ed up.

"Come on, Ed; you've got to get a change of clothes – you're all wet! Here, stand and let us…" Her voice trailed as she stopped pulling him up in amazement. Roy, who had also started to lift the boy on the other side, stopped to stare as well.

Ed hadn't budged – he was resisting their actions! Finally some kind of stronger response from his inner need; he really was recovering. And to Winry's delight and slight frustration, he still retained his stubborn character, a slight frown creasing between the golden eyebrows.

Roy let him go and stood up, scratching the back of his head. He looked at Ed, now splashing about in the water with his hands, then turned back to Winry.

"I suppose you can run back to the house and get a bigger towel to wrap him with. Trust the little midget to get himself wet… a nice big one should do the tri—"

_SPLASH! _A handful of water made contact with Roy's face, making him stare first at Winry in surprise, then following her gaze towards Ed.

Ed was standing there, poised for another splash with, _daresay me_, thought Roy, an annoyed look on his face!

Ed did not relent; in seconds another splash hit Roy full in the face – Roy had been too shocked to move. But it was no matter – for Ed now stood still in the water, glaring at Roy straight in the face.

Roy, staring in return at Ed's glare, spoke with bewilderment.

"I… er… I suppose you can make it TWO towels, Winry."

000 00 000 00 000

When Winry returned to the spot with two big, fresh and dry towels, it was to find two men (or rather, one adult and one boy) splashing around in the stream like two village children. Both were soaked to the skin – Ed's braid was loose, and Roy's hair dripping water like it was a downpour. Winry could not help but laugh at the sight – it was something close to miraculous that Edward was able to respond like that.

Winry's laugh died down to chuckles and she strode closer to them, calling them over to the bank. The two of them faced her in surprise, and Edward, being closer, waddled towards Winry, who had a towel held stretched in her hands. Roy slowly came over as Winry towel-dried Ed like a mother would a small child after a bath, and he took the other towel from across Winry's shoulder and too mopped the water off his face. His eyes still shone though, of the childish fun he had engaged with Ed.

Wrapping the towel around Ed, Winry sighed at the two. "I came back with towels to dry you both properly, and you two went and got yourselves drenched beyond… ugh." She faked a sigh. "_Men._"

Roy smiled as he slung the towel around his neck. "Not my fault; he started it first." He earned a look from Ed, and another from Winry, though hers was more of a 'I-really-can't-help-you' look.

"Ah well, enough pushing of blame; you can explain to Granny how you became so wet in due time. Let's go. Before either of you catch a cold."

As Roy retorted that he wouldn't get a cold just because of a little wet, none of them noticed Ed turning back to look at the sparkling streams, now reflecting orange in the setting sun. For, seemingly in water, stood a boy roughly around Ed's height. Short, cropped hair shone gold in the rays, and the silhouette looked strangely familiar. In the mere split seconds that Ed blinked his eyes, the figure was gone.

Ed was desperate to go back again the next day.

000 00 000 00 000

_Those were the days_

_When we ran under the sun and played._

_What has happened to us now,_

_And where have memories gone?_

000 00 000 00 000

* * *

A.N: Edited this chapter as well. [20/05/09]


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

He heard a voice calling to him from a distance. Soft and muffled at first, but clearer and clearer each time. Eventually he recognised that particular voice – one that had not been heard for long, but familiar enough:

"Nii-san... Nii-san... NII-san..."

He pulled himself up into a sitting position on his bed, and slowly looked around. The window? No. Nobody there. His bed? No, no-one there either. His table? The-

A sudden movement by the door, and he turned only just in time to see a hand slowly move away from the door's frame. The voice kept calling.

Ed pushed himself off the bed.

000 00 000 00 000

Winry had just finished wiping the table clean after a good, healthy breakfast, prepared, of course, by Pinako, since Winry cannot, for the world, tell apart which jar was salt or sugar. The air in the dining area lingered slightly with the scent of baked sugary bread, scrambled eggs and warm heated milk – of that which Ed rejected somewhat violently when Winry placed the breakfast tray in front of him earlier – as Roy came in through the front door loudly announcing (to the two startled women) that he had "finally finished unpacking!" the remaining boxes left in the store. Those boxes held really heavy and bulky items, so it was down to Roy to get them out. One, in particular, was an invention by Winry which allowed her to bake confectionary and observe the whole baking through. Not without constant supervision of Pinako, of course.

He flopped himself onto the breakfast table and proceeded to be mobbed by Winry with loads of questions on her invention, whether it was 'still in one piece?' and 'you didn't break anything?' and 'where did you place it?'

After the last exclamation of 'I can finally bake!' from Winry, drawing grimaces on Pinako's and his faces, Roy got up and went to pour himself another glass of milk. Looking at the milk, he grinned as he remembered Ed and himself the week before. The past few days had been more of unpacking, so he didn't get to play much with Ed (despite being the adult he is) and could only hear Winry talk about Ed's progress as he worked away in the store. He turned over to Winry, who had just hung up the wet cloth to dry upon the rack.

"Is Ed dressed yet?"

She turned around and dried her hands on her pants. "No, no... I've been here since I fed Ed. I'll go dress him now." She unrolled her sleeves (which she had pushed up earlier while she wiped the table) and was about to touch the steps when she noticed the front door still open. She turned back to Roy.

"Roy! You left the front door ajar again!" She headed up the steps to Ed's room. "Umpteenth time already…" was what Roy caught as he closed and locked the wooden feature. He remembered closing it though… But he might have been too tired to remember exactly. He moved away from the front door and plonked down upon the sofa, being quite unprepared for the scream, which rang throughout the house and in his ears a few minutes later.

000 00 000 00 000

His breath was ragged as he stumbled across the sandy path that was now more or less familiar to him. The path, slightly wet due to passing morning showers, was now getting marked by his footprints, some of which were quite deep due to his metal left foot. Not to mention that bits of sand also clung to his feet as he pursued. But that didn't matter. It didn't matter much to Ed at all. What was more important, despite the wetness and dull ache of his metal limbs…

Was that he must catch the one who is running ahead of him.

The boy ahead… his feet did not even seem to touch the ground! Marvelled by that, and also by the familiarity, he tried his hardest to follow but was alas falling behind.

Suddenly, the boy in front stopped. Startled, Ed also halted in his steps; they had reached slopes near the intertwining meshes of streams. Sketchy images of splashing about in that clear, running water flashed through his mind. He looked down at his feet in the wet grass, faintly remembering the feel of cool water flowing across his right foot.

There came the sound of water dripping; he quickly jerked his head up only to find that his target was no longer in front of him, but had crossed over to the water – and was standing upon it! Ed could not have been anymore surprised as the boy turned around – they just about had each other's looks. It was like looking into a distorted mirror.

Looking at one's brother.

In the previous week when he had glimpsed this mysterious figure, his hair shone gold. But now that he was much closer, Ed could see that this gold belonged to a duller shade, and that it was more brown than it gold, like his own hair was. The spikiness was as he had first seen it – every crop of hair was familiar to Ed.

He KNEW this boy.

As if in acknowledgement, the other boy smiled. And the last remaining doubt left Ed's heart.

Ed smiled, too.

000 00 000 00 000

Footsteps thundered up the stairs and proceeded into Ed's room where they stopped. Pinako and Roy just stood and stared at Winry, who was seated on the floor, positively bawling her heart out trying to tell them what happened.

"… not… bed empty… windows were closed… Came… …not… here… I don't know…" Her sentences were so punctuated with her sobs that she didn't really make any sense; Pinako bent down to stop her crying, and Roy look around for any clues or signs of motion left by Ed.

"Shuuush now, Winry. Stop all that crying, and tell us what happened. Where is Ed?"

Winry positively howled all the more louder. "I really DO NOT KNOW! I came up, wanting to… to change him, and the… the bed was just EMPTY! He wasn't in the cupboard, nor was he beneath the desk; the windows were left closed… so he DIDN'T jump through it… NOOO! I didn't check—What if he was kidnapped? Roy left the door open earlier—"

"It's ALRIGHT, Winry. He didn't jump through it; there's nothing below if that's what you were wondering…" Roy walked away from the window area and proceeded to check the bed.

"Hey… it looks like he pushed himself off the bed… come see."

The three-some gathered round and stared at the sheets of the bed, and both Winry and Pinako wondered what Roy was trying to say.

"How do you tell, Roy? I don't see anything…" Pinako muttered, glancing at the sheets.

Winry nodded fervently, also trying to see something Roy could but they couldn't. Roy pointed at the folds in the sheets.

"You see here? Usually when you bring Ed out you will shift his blanket to one side and hold him. Here," he pointed to the blanket, "you see that he actually shoved his blanket off BEHIND him. And," pointing once again to the sheets, "the sheets here show that he slid off his bed. That usually doesn't happen with you, since you lift him off." He looked to the floor. "And he probably scrapped his auto-mail as he got off – you can tell from the little dent and scratch. That wasn't there before."

Roy looked to the two of them. "So, in conclusion," he said as he walked around the room, "Ed DID not get kidnapped (loud sob from Winry) nor did he jump out of the window (another sob), he just…"

Pinako gave him an irate look. "Yes, Detective, we know. Come now Winry," pulling the girl to her feet," we gotta find him quick before something REALLY happens to that kid…"

000 00 000 00 000

He was having the time of his life! Both boys smiling, they chased each other over the gentle running water. Ed was the chaser. Always the chaser. He created splashes that made his clothes and hair drip, but not the other boy. Strange, he felt, since the other boy was constantly gliding through the water, but that didn't matter. All he wanted was to catch him. He didn't want to lag behind all the time.

He was just in reach of his prey's clothing, and, hand outstretched, grin stretched across his face, he –

"EEEDDDD!"

– tripped and fell into the water. He pushed himself up to his knees and stared straight in front of him. His playmate was gone.

He heard more splashes behind. Winry, Roy and Pinako all splashed their way to him and quickly pulled him to dry land. Roy and Pinako immediately washed him with "No"s and "Don't do that again"s and the towel, drying him. But Winry, like Ed, was staring at the water. Her face was pale, and her jaw hanging. Ed's face was opposite. He looked forlornly over the water, wondering when he can run out and play again.

As Roy lifted him onto a piggy-back ride, they all trudged back to their house, Winry looking her shoulder to gaze across the water. The noon sun was getting brighter, and so did the water. It became too glaring for her to continue, so she walked along side Pinako, head down, mind rushing away.

Ed WAS tired. He laid his head on Roy's broad back, and, like Winry, looked across the water again. He turned away when it was too bright, but his ears heard a whisper of only what he could hear.

"Nii-san…"

* * *

A.N: Edited. Realised as I was proof-reading this on my own the timing of events was a lil' off… to clear up misconceptions Ed did run out after Roy came in. [20/05/09]


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

* * *

They were all seated around the dining table, discussing Ed's run-away scene. Or, rather, only Roy and Pinako were talking, gesturing. Winry sat quietly, her mind in constant debate on whether to tell, or not to tell.

It had come to a point where Roy thought that Ed had been cooped up for too long, when Winry gave a slight 'hem'.

Both Roy and Pinako turned with surprise; they never realised that Winry had not made a sound. Until now.

"Is there something you must add? You haven't spoken a word since we got home, you know." Pinako drew back to her seat. Roy got up and paced.

"She probably saw what we had seen, anyway," said Roy, "and I firmly believe that all he needs is just more—"

"—No". said Winry.

"—walks… huh? What did you say, Winry?"

Roy had stopped pacing. Both their eyes were on her now, and she tensed up all the more.

"…Tha… That is… I… well…" She tried to explain, but it was hard when she felt her eyes burning each time she thought about it. "… …I … er… I saw…"

They moved closer. "You saw…?" They both said in unison.

Winry couldn't hold back her tears anymore. They flowed down her cheeks as she looked up at them.

"...Al."

Then she burst into tears. Pinako and Roy stood motionless for a moment as Winry's words washed over them. Then Pinako stood and moved to her side. Roy went to get a tissue. They all thought it was one of her outbursts. Those happened before, and they thought they knew what to do. They were wrong though.

Roy came back with tissue in hand. "I thought we were over this already, Winry…" he handed the tissues to the crying girl. "We explained it clearly, didn't we? And Al won't want to see you like this either…"

"That's right, my dear," continued Pinako. She placed her arm around the shaking shoulders. "Al may be gone, but we always hold him dear to our hearts…"

"Tha… that's NOT it, Granny!" Winry sobbed. She rubbed her eyes fiercely, and blinked at them. "I'm not having one of my breakdowns! I… I saw Al! He was there! Wi…with Ed!"

Pinako shook Winry gently by the arms. "You have to stop that train of thought, Winry! Dead cannot come back. You of all people should know that." Roy merely stood by, watching.

Winry gave her eyes a last wipe, shook her head and gazed at the front door.

"…No."

She stood, walking to front door, eyes distant for a moment. Roy and Pinako, puzzled, followed.

"…No. I know what you are trying to say, but, no." She turned back to them.

"I said it and I will say it again. I saw Al. Ed was with him."

They were about to say something when she cut across them. "Listen to me! What do you think Ed was doing? Running in the stream? All by HIMSELF? He was chasing Al! Ed can SEE Al! And just before we arrived, Ed was about to catch hold of Al…"

"…But," Roy moved forward to interrupt, "his hand was stretched out to prevent himself from falling, right? I didn't see… Al." He turned to Pinako. "Did you, Pinako-san?"

Pinako shook her head. "I thought the very same. Ed stuck his hand out to prevent himself from falling." She paused with a hand to her chin. "…though I did wonder about Roy's theory to Ed's running."

"Precisely!" Winry jumped at them. "Like I said, he was chasing Al! I don't know why, but I saw him! Al… Al was just inches away from Ed's fingers." She hung her head. "Though I think, Ed would have been shocked to realise that he would have grabbed thin air if we didn't stop him…"

They all stood there, next to the front door in silence… Outside, the sun was setting, and some of the orange rays shone in through the front door. Winry looked up at Roy and Pinako, who were lost for words, and then looked up the stairway to Ed's room, where the boy was sleeping.

"…Now I don't know…" she whispered, "whether we should let this continue, or stop Ed from seeing Al."

000 00 000 00 000

Ed was sleeping. Dreaming. Dreaming of running water, grassy slopes…

And his new found playmate.

And he kept hearing him too.

"Nii-san…" the voice rolled in his mind. "Nii-san…"

* * *

A.N: edited [20/05/09]


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

* * *

The household kind of reverted back to their normal routine after that run-away scene two weeks ago, though the Rockbells (and a Mustang) decided that for the good of Ed, they restricted his outdoor play time to only three times a week. On the weekends they adopted a new game called 'tag' in the house itself, making Ed clamber after Roy and Winry while Pinako kept her eyes on Ed (nobody expected her to run anyway, at her age). It seemed that the new game took Al off Ed's mind, though just a little. For each time it was an outing day, his eyes would light up and he would obediently follow orders. The little kid was starting to show a mind, his old stubborn defiant mind, of his own.

However not all outing days were good ones. In fact, the threesome realised that with each visit, Ed seemed to withdraw a little. On each visit, Ed looked forward to seeing his new pal, nameless though he was to Ed, but nonetheless, fun to have. However, apparition or not, said 'Al' did not appear at all during any of the outings. Winry was also puzzled as to why Al had refused to show up after all that trouble to appear before them. The moment they would get to the sparkling waters, Ed would take a look at the view void of that one person, and would then sit upon the grass, staring across the water in deep silence.

Each time that happened, Roy and Pinako (she started joining them on the outings since the run-away happened) would look to Winry. It was plain proof of Winry's words: Al had indeed appeared. Ed was LOOKING for Al.

It was outing day again. As usual Ed was elated. To say elated was an understatement. He was practically bouncing away. The same cannot be said for Winry though. For Ed it was something to look forward to. For Winry… confusion ran amok in her mind. She did not know whether she wanted to see Al… or wanted to forget. As she stood near the front door, Pinako and Roy appeared at her side; Pinako gave Winry a gentle pat on the shoulder, before calling out to Ed, "Edo-kun? Ed, are you ready?"

There came a thunder of footsteps, and Ed appeared at the landing of the stairway. He had been running up and down, and his shirt got pulled out again.

"Oh, Ed…" said Winry as she gestured for him to come down, "you've gone and put your shirt out of place again. Here, lemme tuck it in."

"If you're ready, Ed, I'll challenge you to see who reaches the stream first," said Roy, poised at the door. Ed threw him a look as he made his way down the flight of steps; after Winry had tucked his shirt in, Ed rushed beside Roy at the doorway.

"Ready, Ed?" Roy smirked. "One, two— HEY!"

For at the count of two, Ed already dashed off. Roy swore (as gently as he could) and then laughed, and jogged after Ed. Winry and Pinako shut the door behind them, and proceeded to follow the running duo.

The four of them reached the stream, with Ed sliding down the grass into the water first. The change of look on his face, however, was evident. The little figure was looking to and fro in search of Al, but, like other visits, he did not appear again. Roy sank down on the grass; he was not at all used to running. He, too, saw the look on Ed's face, and looked over his shoulder at Winry and Pinako. Winry was also looking. Looking and also to no avail. She heaved a sigh of relief and disappointment. She was not sure why she was the only one who could see Al other than Ed, but she did not think too much about it for…

They all heard a loud splash, and looked up to see Ed no longer there but for ripples in the middle of the stream. That area was the deeper end. With a startled cry, Winry and Roy ran into the water, only to meet with a splash.

Ed stood thigh-deep in the water, hands in the air, grinning, for they fell for this same trick he threw on… the other boy. His face and hands fell at once, though not because of the thunderous look on Winry's face. She was soaked through, of course, and so was Roy, but Ed took no notice. He looked across the water again, and his face fell all the more at the absence of his new friend. Why was the other boy avoiding him? Wouldn't one look forward to more fun? But his playmate did not appear.

Ed was determined to know why.

In the mean time… SPLASH! He scooped another handful of water and threw it at Roy and Winry. Laughing, he ran to shallower water. Roy, eyes ablaze, followed.

"WHY Yooooouu!" screamed Winry, and she too ran after him. That was her nicest outfit, something Ed gave when they were still in the heart of Rush Valley… though, of course, she knew Ed could now not remember ever buying the dress for her. He had commented that for a girl, she wore far too many pants, and a dress should be a better change. It had promptly made her drive her spanner into his head.

000 00 000 00 000

They returned that evening. Ed got his bath first, having actually being in the water and yet able to get that much mud on himself. After being declared mud-free, Pinako saw him to bed for much needed rest – his head was drooping while his hair was being washed.

After getting him fed and tucked into bed, it was Winry's turn to take a bath. She closed the toilet door behind her and began to undress… and think.

Why was Al not appearing anymore? It was a shame, since she was the only one out of the threesome able to see Al. She glanced into the mirror, and was horrified to find a splash of dirt and mud on her neck. She cringed, then walked into the shower and turned the tap. Warm water gushed through the shower head, and she quickly scrubbed the grime off. Neck slightly red, she stopped to think again.

She knew that Ed wanted to see Al too. And, probably, so did she. But, if the outings were to continue, it would only hurt Ed all the more. Would continuing these outings be a real benefit or destruction to Ed's recovery? He had already shown so much improvement, but for the sheer disappointment that streaks his face whenever he…

She stopped thinking and starting soaping.

000 00 000 00 000

"…I… I have something to say about these trips out."

Three of them were gathered once more, in the living room this time. Dishes were piled in the sink – Winry's turn. But she had pulled both Roy and Pinako by hand and sat them down.

Roy was still dripping water, that having been from getting pulled by Winry just as he was stepping out of the bath. He sat down though, using the towel to dry his hair. The dripping did not actually stop, though.

Winry sat in front of the two, and, watching the carpet at Roy's feet getting wetter, she took a breath and faced them.

"Well…," she continued, uneasily, "that is, we may have to stop Ed and his outdoor trips."

Roy jumped immediately to his feet.

"What? But the doc said—"

"Heck what the Doc said!" She burst out. "You've seen his expression! Every time he looks so happy going out, he turns out getting disappointed because…"

Winry paused.

"…because Al isn't… isn't appearing. At all."

Roy sat down again. Pinako's face was all a frown.

"What a mind-tearing situation, huh." She didn't look up.

Winry nodded. "But it'll have to do. I can't risk Ed falling back into his mindless state again. NOT now."

"But… but you saw how he played with us, at the stream." Roy was mopping his hair dry, and the dripping finally stopped. "He was actually enjoying it."

"No." Winry looked full into his face, and for once he remained silent to listen. He sat back down on the now slightly damp spot of the sofa.

"This afternoon was a total surprise; we may not guarantee this would happen every time. It sure didn't happen the previous time we brought him."

Ed had sat down on the grass and didn't not move an inch then. Oh, I sure remembered that well, thought Roy.

Winry's tone of dismissal was final.

"No more."

000 00 000 00 000

He watched as his older brother slept, and, soundlessly, since his feet didn't even touch the floor, he moved closer to the sleeping figure. The gentle, continuous rise and fall of Ed's chest brought him calm and yet… He knew that Ed was suffering. He was glad he had gotten some time to spend with his brother, at least, but… he knew that he had to bring him out of this state that was causing everyone pain.

Al will not let anything stand in his way.

Or so he thought.

"Nii-san…"

Ed stirred a little, but did not wake. Al tried again.

"Nii-san… Nii-san…"

Ed slowly opened his eyes and blinked, looking distant. He swore he heard those whisperings, and he heard them right in his ear. And he was not disappointed. There he was, that critter, standing (floating) above his face.

He sat up immediately.

Al smiled. That was easier than he thought. He remembered several occasions where trying to wake Ed was like prodding a stick in a carcass. In any case, methods (for waking Ed) itself back then did not stop at poking.

"Nii-san…"

Ed blinked. What was he saying?

"Nii-san, you remember me?" Al was beaming. After all, not all spirits are able to step out from the gate and wander back here. But he had something to do.

"Nii-san? It's me, Al, remember?"

All he got was Ed blinking.

Al frowned, then brushed back Ed's bangs and placed his fingers upon the temples. Ed cringed a little. Al pulled back.

"Sorry, that was a little cold, wasn't it?" He gave Ed an assuring smile, though, and continued.

"Don't worry," said Al, bringing his fingers to Ed's temples again, "this won't take very long."

The wind blew in just then, the cold night air, making Ed shiver all the more. And Al concentrated.

And found that he concentrated on nothing.

That brother of his had sealed himself up, he swore.

And that did not make Al happy.

* * *

A.N: Edited [20/05/09]


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

* * *

Removing his fingertips from Ed's temples, Al glided backwards and frowned. He was mad. Very. At what a STUPID thing Ed had done.

And that was to go sealing himself up. Running away.

And Al did not think his brother was a run-away type.

"Nii-san!" He chided Ed.

Ed only blinked in response. Al sighed.

"…Oh, Nii-san, what have you done to yourself…" he paced, or rather, glided back and forth, muttering angrily to himself.

Had he risked everything, the gate babies and all, just to come back and get stuck? Getting through the gate babies was one hell of a torture. Now, he was not even sure if he could bring Ed to his senses.

That stupid idiot. What had he gone and done now?

He stopped floating as he felt Ed's hand go through his side. Ed was trying to TICKLE him. Brilliant. The only problem was he could not feel a thing.

And that was just making Ed even more confused. What with fingers wriggling through and all. Great. Simply great. He had to do something. Fast.

Al screwed up his eyes in thought. All he saw from that brief search in Ed's mind was a gradient of blackness, coming from bottom then lightening at the top. Ed had to be deep within the darkness of course. Soo… should he pull Ed back to the surface, or what?

Al began pacing again.

Then he turned to Ed, total determination on his face. Ed only blinked. Al's eyebrows furrowed.

He had made a decision.

000 00 000 00 000

Winry had just finished doing the dishes. Wiping her hands on her pants, she walked into the living room, and out into the front porch. The moonlight was casting a sharp, long shadow in her direction: Pinako was upon the bench. She took a long puff from the pipe she was smoking from, and looked over her shoulder at the teen. She signaled Winry over, and the younger female plonked down onto the empty space beside her.

"Granny, smoking is bad, you know."

"Mind yourself, young 'un." She drew another long puff. "A girl shouldn't throw herself on a chair; she sits gracefully."

Winry made a face, and earned a knock on the head from Pinako's pipe.

"I'm serious, Winry." She looked up at the night sky. The moon was beautiful, as always. And it always made her think of her dear son and daughter-in-law.

Hence the following words that followed, with smoke, "What would your parents ever say?"

That made Winry look up as well. In her swirling thoughts she thought of her deceased parents. Of what would it be like if they were all alive… That including Ed and Al's parents. And Al of course. Would they still have remained at their old home? Not that it was bad; it was great. Money was no problem – with the money Ed coughed up for his treatment and other patients, the Rockbells were rich enough to last them for, at least, two lifetimes. But of course they had to quit their automail work for Ed. Shifting all the way out here to another land… away from places where bad memories could catch hold on all four occupants of the house.

The wind blew just then. As Winry clutched her hair to stop it from flying wild, a giant cloud was blown in and covered the moon. The wind blew all the more.

And she felt an unknown chill run down her spine.

She felt a presence, familiar, and yet, frightening.

"Granny…" she whispered.

"Yar, it's gonna rain soon, I guess," Pinako missed the tenseness in Winry's voice. Not until Winry stood straight up and looked back into the house.

"Winry?"

Winry just stared into the house. The feeling was still there. Where was it? She moved her eyes around the house through the view of the front doorway. Her eyes zipped upwards, where Ed's room was.

"… Ed…" and she bolted into the house.

000 00 000 00 000

Al was puffing. It made no difference, however, since he had no need to breathe. But still, out of old habit, he was puffing.

And why would he not be? After diving deep into the darkness, he had finally found Ed, slumped in one corner – and he did not care if Ed's mind MINDED, because the next thing after swimming (Yes, he was swimming – swimming in the midst of darkness. It did help that he was glowing a little) up to Ed he yanked on Ed's mind… sub-conscious… whatever it was… and started swimming back up.

At first, it was easy. Until, of course, floods of Ed's memory came pouring back into Ed's conscious. That was like suddenly having to drag a bag, while someone kept dumping mud into it. And sometimes, Al had to dodge a stream of memories that came in his direction. The memories came at them like film; frame by frame, strip by strip, Al identified some of the images reflected in the black and white rolls. He even spotted himself in some, seeing the great suit of armor… It was like a confetti that burst open from Ed, except that while streamers burst away from the popper, the strips of memories flooded back straight into the container. Back into Ed's conscious.

Yeah, he was puffing hard alright. And pulling hard too.

He was just about to make it too, with Ed's mind being able to get up and stagger for itself – he threw an arm around his own shoulder and began stumbling with Ed's mind – until he heard a scream.

* * *

A.N: Edited [20/05/09]


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

* * *

The memory floods stopped. In fact, some zipped right out of Ed's being again, and Ed slumped, once more, on black surface. And Al found himself whooshing out of the darkness too.

And, he found himself facing none other than Winry.

Boy, that sure pulled the trigger.

He must been a sight to behold though, because, apparently Winry was so shaken, she had sunk to her knees on the floor, jaw hanging from end of the scream he had heard earlier. He glowed in slight irritation.

"Oh, Winry-san," he sighed, "what a right time to come in."

Of course, that made Winry start screaming again… and now, even louder.

In the next room, Al felt Roy stir from his sleep. And Pinako coming up the stairs. Great. Just GREAT.

And he dematerialised faster then you could say 'ectoplasm'.

000 00 000 00 000

"Winry, what's wrong—oh heavens." Roy, sleep gone from his face, was looking into Ed's room through the door frame. Pinako hobbled upstairs, and took a look in as well. And gasped.

Aside from Winry on her knees, Ed was slumped against the wall, as he had (and he HAD) been yanked from his sleep. But his eyes were still closed. That did not distract the two newcomers from seeing a slight mist (ectoplasm actually) that Al left behind, floating in mid-air, just in front of Ed. It disappeared slowly.

As the last trace of it was gone, Ed stirred.

Winry crawled towards Ed's bed and lifted herself onto it. Roy and Pinako stepped into the room, looking at the spot in front of Ed's bed where the mist had disappeared. They still did not have a clue of what happened just moments ago.

"Winry? What happened? Was… was Ed already in that position when you went in?" Pinako hurried to her side.

Roy took a quick glance around the room. At first he thought the mist (ectoplasm) was from a gunshot, but realised that he had not heard any to begin with, and threw his military instincts to the winds. He walked to the bed as well.

Winry was fanning Ed with her hand. The boy's body was burning up a little. And his breathing was a bit ragged.

Pinako shook Winry's shoulders.

"Winry, dear, what happened?" as Winry turned to look at her. She looked a bit wild around the eyes, turning red as they burned with unshed tears, but that was not what made Pinako gasp. It was what Winry said that made even Roy gasp as well.

"…Al. It… it was Al…" and distractedly she went back fanning Ed.

Roy was looking all round again.

"Alphonse? Where? Where is he?"

Winry gave a shudder. "He… he disappeared…" Finally a tear streaked down her cheek. "Right before… right before you both came in." She did not even bother wiping her face dry.

"It's alright, Winry," Pinako put her arms round Winry's shoulders. The poor girl was visibly shaking.

"What happened?" Roy asked. "What in the world did you see?"

That was probably the worst question, and Winry shook all the more. But she managed to mumble the words out though.

And after her story was told, even Roy had goose-bumps up his arms. Al, glowing? Tentacles? Wrapping Ed? Sounds pretty ridiculous, but the still shaking Winry was more than enough proof to know she was not lying.

And how he wished it really was one. A lie, that is.

Though, he was more alarmed that the smoke he thought was a gunshot earlier actually came from Al. Winry had mentioned that at the last moment.

Pinako was still comforting the poor child. And Roy walked back to Ed's side and felt him. Ed was burning up all right.

"Ed's feverish. I'll go get water and a towel..." Pinako muttered. Roy also muttered something about getting medicine. Winry remained by his side, still shaking slightly. The adults were about to leave Ed's room when they heard something that immediately stopped them. Something they all hadn't heard for a long, long time.

* * *

A.N: Edited [20/05/09]


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

* * *

"Win…Winry…?"

All three heads snapped back to the bed. Ed's eyes were open. He was still breathing raggedly. But that didn't stop him from croaking, again.

"Win…Winry… …Baa-chan… Tai…sa…" (1)

Pinako and Roy rushed back to the bed. Ed was speaking! His voice cracked from lack of use, but at least he had spoken something! And he called their names! Golden eyes that were once dull, seemed to have regained part of their sharpness, though it was still mostly misty, at least there was some glint shining in their depths.

Ed could recognise them. At long last.

But he was still feverish, so in a while, his head drooped once more, and he fell into troubled slumber.

Both Pinako and Roy rushed off to get the things they were supposed to get, and Winry remained by Ed's side.

"Typical you, you alchemic freak." She tucked him in. "During automail rehab you only took a year. Now, a month or so. You're good…" she said, stroking aside the trademark bangs that were plastered to his cheeks, "you're good…"

Roy came up first, with the bottle of pills in hand. "These be the ones, right, Winry?" he asked, waving the bottle at her. Winry looked up and nodded. Then she looked down at the other hand and went, "You missed out on water." She turned back to look at Ed, who was actually starting to sweat profusely. "He needs water to drink the pills down."

He took a glance at Ed. "Sure, I'll be right ba—Whoops…" for he turned and bumped into Pinako, who had returned with a small basin of cold water and a towel on her shoulder. Pinako avoided a bump with the tall man, but in turn, twisted so strongly that the cold water splashed onto Winry's back.

The young girl, now dripping wet and shivering, threw an irritated look at the older occupants of the house. "This'll be the second time I got wet today…" she said, as Pinako bustled out of the room again to retrieve more cold water, leaving the towel upon the bed. Winry waited as Roy, too, rushed out of the room (under Winry's glare) to fetch a glass of water and returned to give Ed the medicine; sleepy Ed simply popped the pills into his mouth without fuss and would have had fallen asleep with pills in mouth had Roy not press the glass of water into his hands. Only then did Ed swallow the pills.

Pinako finally returned with a fresh round of cold water, and Winry wasted no time in dousing the towel in the basin and proceeded to place it upon Ed's forehead, after Roy had adjusted the boy into a sleeping position upon the bed. Winry swung her head towards the bedside clock.

"9.26 pm… Let's make it 9.30pm… so another six hours would be…" she stood there counting.

"Winry," Pinako interrupted, "lemme watch Edo. You go change into dry clothes, then you both go have a rest. If Ed's this tired, you all must be, too."

Winry seemed to not have heard – too busy counting. "11.30, 12.30, 13—oops, wrong; eleven, twelve, thirteen—I mean, one—two… three!" She looked at Pinako.

"Uh, you said something, Granny?"

The old woman gazed steady at Winry for a bit, then gave a sigh.

"Never mind me." She pushed Winry and Roy out of the room. "But NOT without getting a change of clothes first. You're shivering." They bustled out of the boy's room, Winry still counting hours off her fingers.

* * *

A.N: Edit – Readjusted some parts here [20/05/09] But I'm going to leave my old a/n here - -

_First of all, really, really big apology for being so late in updating. Now…_

_"A manifested ghost can be seen by one or more people at the same time. But there are instances where only one person in a room can see the ghost while the other people see nothing." --- taken from there were some questions regarding this story. One question from a reader (Kuropuu) was, "Why'd Al dissapear, cause he ddint want anyone to see him?"_

_Erm, to explain this you've got to know a bit of the Chinese belief of the Yin and the Yang. Basically, we Chinese believe that ghosts possess mostly Yin (that's negative for you), and that humans possess mostly Yang (positive), and a plus fact that it is believed that males possess more yang and girls more yin._

_In this case, (please excuse the lecture here) Al had to dematerialise because Roy's positive energy was strong. Pinako, despite being a female, has considerably more yang since she is ALIVE. Al is DEAD. He has like, what, 90 yin or something._

_Another question probably is why only Winry (excusing Ed) can see Al. Erm, Winry being a girl, has yin. More yin, since she is (internally and subconsciously) depressed. With tat negative energy pouring off from her, it's easier for her to… say, 'feel' Al's presence. And see him. Ed's just a different case. They say the closer you were tied to the deceased in real life, the easier you are to see him/her. (that's why I've not even been able to dream of my late grandparents – apparently only my parents and aunts and uncles could dream/see them)_

_Another question was "How Al died." To Renneh and all others who want to know, I actually don't feel like writing that part out but, for your sake, I shall. Don't blame me if it's shoddy work though… T.T_

_(1) Taisa – for those who didn't watch the Japanese version of FMA, this means "Colonel", and that's how Ed addressed Mustang in military days_

_Another apology for it being so short. The next chapter is shorter, though the one after that (I think) is gonna be long. REALLY long. I wrote it out already. Gonna transform ink to screen. Yup. Happy waiting._


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

* * *

Silence, except for occasional crickets and the wind passing through the forests. If you strained your ears enough, even the running of the water could be heard from the streamside where Ed had been playing. No owls, none, but the snaps and clicks from trees hinted that night life had long begun. The moonlight touched the side of Ed's cheek, and his disturbed sleep he stirred and flipped. The cloth from his forehead, still damp, slid off and onto the pillow, missing Ed's twitching fingers just by about an inch.

Beside him, Winry slept with her head in her arms. About to slide off the chair, she had stayed up close to two in the morning, sponging Ed's forehead until her head drooped and eyes closed shut. With the movement from Ed, she pushed herself up the chair but remained in deep sleep.

The pillow grew damper, and nothing else was out of ordinary. Okay, not nothing else. SOMETHING was out of ordinary. And THAT something out of ordinary was standing (floating) on the stairs. Al glided steadily upwards, straining to see if the coast was clear. Seeing Winry at the chair by the bed, he relaxed. He did not, however, make straight for Ed's room. Instead, Al glided downstairs, into the dark hall, and pondered.

Was Ed fully recovered? If not, could he risk another memory flood, just as Ed is recovering from the fever it had given earlier? He was being indecisive, he knew – he came here to help Ed, so think what more? – but he just did not want to risk everything based on one wrong move. But after more gliding (and more wind howling – the wind was getting stronger) he made up his mind.

Up the stairs he went.

Reaching the bed, and standing beside both Ed and Winry (the latter was snoring, by the way), Al stuck out his hand and placed it once more on Ed's temple. The sleeping boy stirred, and, unknown to Al, Winry had felt his presence – she stopped snoring, and her skin crawled. But she was still sleeping, albeit slightly. Al concentrated once more, oblivious; just as he had thought, Ed was far from being fully Ed yet. There was still some considerable distance (and, definitely, some memory) from where Ed's mind was to reach the 'fully-recovered' stage. The LIGHT. And of course, that also referred to the pain and suffering Ed would feel once he awakens. Al gave a start; would Ed then retreat further into his dark abyss?

No matter. All he had to do was shake Ed up. Summing up some energy, he managed to flip Ed facing him (no easy feat) and stopped to look upon the moon shining into his brother's face.

"Sorry, Nii-san. Just bear with me a little longer."

And he placed his forehead against Ed's.

000 00 000 00 000

Back in Ed's void, he could see Ed's mind-being dozing upon the dark floor, and strode across the distance that separated it from the edge of the light. Reaching Ed, he bent down and shook Ed awake.

"Mmmhmmm…" murmured the semi-opaque figure, and it groggily stood up. "…Al?"

It would have fallen back into a doze on its feet had Al not shaken him some more.

"Nii-san… Nii-san, wake UP, Nii-san!" Al continued shaking by the arm – "…I'm supposed to be dead-" and at that Ed's mind jerked a bit, "and you are NOT supposed to be here, nii-san. Now follow me!" And Al proceeded to tug the mind-presence.

"…De…dead?… Wha…?" The mind was resisting, pulling back, though sleepily. "Al…here… … …not… dead… hahahahah…" And with that, the mind sank down to its knees and seemed to go back to snooze mode.

Al grew impatient. He turned round and jerked 'Ed' to its feet.

"Listen, Nii-san," shaking Ed hard, "I AM dead," and those words made mind-Ed alert again, as Al continued, "whether you like it or not. Sad to say, our plan failed to bring me back, and I've been stuck at the other side of the gate ever since." Al stopped shaking, for he saw a confused expression overtaking the face of the 'other Ed'.

"…But… why…? Wha…" It broke off and started to sob. "You… here… Al… no armour… but… wha…?"

Cupping its face with his hands, Al could not help but dread what was going to come next. Already he could hear a deep roaring from behind – there was limited time left now. Calming 'Ed' down, he picked up his 'brother' again, and started moving towards the light, thinking that less words, more action would prove his point.

Now, with 'Ed' simply following, the process was easier. Miscellaneous strips of memories, few but long ones, occasionally made their way towards them and into Ed. They slowly moved on. But once they reached the edge, Ed abruptly stopped. Al looked back at it in wonder, and saw worry on the being's face. It spoke, with fuller sentences now, but all washed with fear.

"…Once I step th-through… once I step through, Al… g-gone?" It did not sniffle, but all the same, the voice that spoke trembled a great deal. Al refused to look, refused to answer. 'Ed' tugged on Al's hand – he turned to look at mind-Ed, who was now having head bowed, looking at his feet. Al stiffened.

"Sorry, Nii-san." He took the hand off his, and pushed 'Ed' in front of him, "…You have no other choice now."

With that, he gave a push, and, just as the roaring wave of memory came crashing towards them, 'Ed' met it face-on. As they collided, Ed's mind jerked violently. And Al saw the frames. And he knew. That those were the last and most crucial memories Ed was going to receive.

Ed was going to see how he, Al, had died. Again.

* * *

A.N: Edited [20/05/09]


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

* * *

_They had been fighting. They had always been fighting, since he did not know when. Fighting the bad guys. Fighting more bad guys. And fighting amongst themselves, on certain occasions._

_But finally, for all their fighting, all their struggles, they had found what they had been looking for. What they had been fighting so long for._

_000 00 000 00 000_

_The news they had received sent a fire blazing through their bodies, flesh and steel alike. Military scouts had located the source of the Homunculi power. Not without their help, since they realised their crap of a father (in his eyes) was the one who had ruthlessly transmuted the entire collection of hostages into a stumbling red block of pure alchemical power; amongst the list of hostages were several of their comrades from the military, and Dr Marcoh, too, was regrettably included into the sacrificial act. With the final hint from Hohenheim (at last, passing on from decaying body and sheer exhaustion) the scouts drew a map to show the bounty – the red stone the Elrics had been looking for, over the past 4 years._

_That fateful day was wet. Wet, wet, WET. How he had hated the wet, the cold, the rain, for it caused his automail to stiffen and hurt, a blunt throbbing sensation. Soggy map in his left fleshy hand, he looked up at the ceiling of the drippy, damp, deserted underground cavern, where the blasted homunculi horde reportedly slummed. It was pathetic. All because they had lost Dante and that house (which rightfully belongs to Izumi sensei anyway). No need to thank him. Seriously._

_To his right reddish glow gleamed off the cavern wall, and they hurried towards it. He was just about to say something to Al, but of course, upon reaching the source of the glow, the sight took all the words out of his mouth._

_To see the actual stone, that was dazzling. But to see it in such… magnitude… as in, the size of it was already three times larger than himself – that was astounding. It probably took whatever words Al had right out of his mouth too, since he was also staring up at it, speechless. Both stood in awe, in unified silence._

_He broke out of the daze first. Stumbling towards the block, he touched it, and the mere contact sent little sparks down his finger into the body. He broke away into Al's concerns, but after remembering what the power was made of, he only had anger in response. The stone WAS alive, of course. Why? Because his father transmuted the many lives of people into it. That was why._

_Al had argued. They argued the night before the last arranged attack on the Homunculi. He argued fiercely over the use of the stone; the use of many lives just to retrieve his body and Ed's arm and leg. Even if Ed was able to fully utilise the stone, restoring the entire Amestris and so forth, it still would not seem right to utilise other people's lives._

_But Ed had solemnly cut him off. He knew very well, deep down in his heart, beating like crazy at that moment in time when they discovered the whereabouts of the accursed stone. He hated the fact that he would be using lives in exchange for greater power. He hated the idea. He also hated the stone. And his father. For doing such a terrible deed. Even if his father fell unknowingly to the dastardly plans of the Homuculi, Ed strongly felt that, if it were he and not his father, he would not have agreed to it no matter what it may cost him. He had clenched his fist in rising fury._

_He digressed. What was done, was done. Nothing can be done to bring back the millions of lives lost into the red stone before them. And Ed fought, against all his will, to justify that reason. The reason that he would rather not have those millions of lives wasted on some crazy plan the Homunculi intended for such a large stone._

_Making sure the sacrifice would be for a better world. For a proper reason._

_Restoring Al was priority. Amestris, too, for the entire country was pulled into disorder and destruction with the course of the Homunculi's plan. Thousands of innocents from each individual city in the vast country were affected, and most can be found, though not literally, in the stone. He would be last. If there were any of the stone left for him at all. But no matter. Al would be first._

_As his train of thought drifted in that direction, his attention snapped back to the present. Al was, once again, voicing his reluctance. As if hearing from the end of a long tunnel, Al's voice and the hesitation in it began to break him from his reverie._

_"…ly don't think we should do this, nii-san…" Al clunked a step back, away from the red monstrosity. "I don't want my body restored with the lives of others…" The armour began to rattle as Al shook with rage, not very different from the one that Ed had felt._

_"I really don't wish for this."_

_Ed looked down at his feet. How many times did he have to go through with this?_

_He remained calm, surprised by his own quietness in his voice despite having been so excited the night before, as he addressed Al._

_"… … I need not tell you again, Al. I don't WANT all these… lives… to fall into the hands of THEM."_

_He brought his head up to look at the stone. He could see the faces of those he knew and was lost to the stone, flashing before his eyes as he affixed his gaze upon it – Marcoh, Schiezka, Falman, Havoc, their father, Izumi sensei and Sig, and finally, Hawkeye, of which he held most regret, for he had only started to get to know her, before everything went chaotic. There were many others… but he could not falter now._

_He tore his eyes away from the stone and faced Al, who had stopped shaking and was looking back, expressionless in his steel cage, waiting for Ed to continue._

_"I'm sorry you hate it Al. I hate it as much as you do." He took a step closer to the stone. "But, it's for a better cause that I can think of, compared to being used by murderers."_

_"…Why, I THANK you for that compliment, o-chibi-chan..." A sharp, silky voice rang throughout the cavern where they stood, shoulders prickling, as the sound of footsteps echoed from somewhere behind them. Ed and Al twisted sharply; Envy stepped into the reddish light, followed by a tearful Gluttony, who was sucking upon a finger. Of course, it was only these two left. The other five had been eliminated by the other state alchemists, but, not at the costs of their own lives as well. Roy, having established the fact that destroying their inner source meant their demise, had carried out an immense attack on the sinister group in anguish; he had faced Wrath, who he had known was Bradley – King of Amestris and Führer of the military state… and also the one who killed Hawkeye and his other subordinates. Revenge was swiftly taken, but at the end, Roy had no joy in it – revenge did not bring back the dead._

_Like a cat, Ed bristled at the sight of the loathsome creature in front of him – Envy, who had started the Ishbal war, who drove Lao to become Greed, rendering him as an enemy of the state alchemists, and resulted in his death as well; Envy, who killed Hughes, and tore his family apart; Envy, in killing Maes Hughes, dragged innocent Ross into exile. Though, as Ed thought about it, he should be thankful for that. At least she was safe… he hoped._

_He snarled at the shape-shifting monster, now standing a distance from the brothers, all eerily bathing in the red light the stone was emitting. Gluttony, still tearful, hung back at the entrance._

_"…I KNEW you wouldn't let us just waltz in and take the stone…" Ed had no reason to hold back the bite in his tone. Anger and hatred towards the being before him was rising like a giant tsunami waiting to crash; Envy failed to miss the aura of fury that built up around the little alchemist._

_"Tsk, tsk… temper, temper." He snickered a spiteful response. "That… of course… is the exact reason why you are puny. Temper makes you stop growing, you know." He gave his spiky long hair a swish by turning to face Al. "Isn't that right, Alphonse-kun? You'll find the people with nasty tempers… the shortest people on earth!" He ended in crude laughter._

_Edward painfully closed one eye on the remark. Trying to focus on the situation at hand, he forced his voice to be as calm, as he threw daggers back at Envy in the form of words._

_"…Funny how you can laugh… when it's only down to you two. Your beloved 'Father' is gone, and so is the rest of your crew," spat Ed, as he made a sweeping motion with his arm. "What have you got now? And… surely you're running low on the stone?" He pointed at Envy's figure._

_A flicker of irritation played on Envy's face. In truth, he was covered in dust, and parts of him had not fully regenerated properly. Not wanting to admit it, but the alchemist was right. He was running out of the philosopher's stone._

_"And who do you think I have to blame for THAT?" Envy dropped the calm act and started yelling, his voice loudly bouncing off the walls. "Thanks to your DEAR father," Envy's eyes widened with emphasis, "he finished off OUR Father, not to mention Dante, and promptly reduced my life count as well!" He looked a little insane now, as though he were about to transform into that demonic creature Ed had once gotten the chance to see inside of Gluttony's stomach. Seeing the creature pant as though that little anger burst was draining him, however, Ed relaxed a little. Envy clearly did not have much life left; to finish him quickly now before he could get his hands on the stone was suddenly going off in his head like a siren. Apparently, at some metallic clunks coming from Al, his brother arrived at the same conclusion. Both, subconsciously, got into an attacking stance. Without warning, Envy pounced._

_A fierce battle ensued. As it prolonged, Ed got a little worried. Despite Envy being weakened, they were still struggling to keep up with his agility. Though he did not shape-shift, it was hard to land an attack upon the flexible body of his. Envy laid scratches, cuts and punches to openings in their battling; injuring Ed on one side, deflecting attacks from armoured Al on the other. The brothers fought on with a single thought – Envy must NOT reach the stone._

_Unknown to the engrossed fighters, Gluttony had slowly inched his way to the red stone. Blankly, he gazed upon it, before uttering a single word that no-one actually managed to hear._

_"…Lust…"_

_A blinding flash of red light temporarily halted the trio's fight, and with a look of utmost anger Envy screamed, but he was a little too late. Using up an amount of the philosopher's stone and of his own inner stone, Gluttony disappeared into the red flash with a loud explosion – he had willed himself out of existence. Dust clearing from where the cavern ceiling had fallen, the stone now stood with a quarter less of its original height._

_Worry etched itself upon Ed's face – if that much was needed for a mere Homunculi destruction, he did not know if there would be enough left for Al or Amestris, after they finished with Envy. He turned back to face his quaking quarry, now seemed to have lost all sense of organised thought. The one thing that remained reflected on the monster's face was evident – 'Kill.'_

_Ed lunged at Envy before the latter could react. They hit the dirt and dust covered floor and the fight continued. Al, having to break his gaze away from where Gluttony had stood a few moments ago, tried to step back into the fray, but hesitated._

_Ed, in the mean time, had landed several blows to Envy whilst tussling on the ground. Blood from two different sources splattered in different areas of the cavern now, and as they got up from the ground, panting, both were losing blood to the floor – Ed's blood staining bright red, as Envy's dark brown._

_Al looked apprehensive. Though he knew he was the better fighter and practically invulnerable, he was afraid that if he took over now, his speed might cause him to lose out to Envy. He weighed the situation. To protect Ed, or let them continue?_

_After several moments, the two broke apart and the fighting stood at a standstill once more. Ed swayed on his feet. With Envy's claw-like hands, slashes decorated his black suit and blood was flowing from the deep gashes. Similarly, Envy was bleeding through the slashes made by the blade of Ed's transmuted automail. There was no attempt to heal the cuts, or any form of regeneration; Envy, all sanity gone, stood ogling at Ed. Slowly, the creature staggered forward._

_Edward prepared for a final attack. As he unsteadily got into another stance, he nearly fell backwards off balanced when Al placed his armour self in front of Ed. Struggling to maintain footing, Ed shot Al a one-eyed look; his right eye was shut in a flow of blood streaking down from his forehead to his chin._

_"Al… get… get outta the way…"_

_Al stood firm._

_"Sorry nii-san, I'll take it from here."_

_Envy had come within arm's length - stretching out his right hand, he lifted Envy from the ground by the throat. The lone Homunculus struggled weakly; Al tightened his grip around the creature. Envy flailed even harder, and happened to knock off Al's helmet from the suit. It fell to the floor, the sound echoing loud in the cavern for some time, masking the sound of running steps approaching in the distance._

_Envy, in Al's death grip, was slowly dying. Down to his last life count, his struggles slowly grew weaker, one arm feebly held above him, as Ed slumped, finally, to the ground, unable to stand any further. The blood pooled around him, and his vision began to swim. And suddenly, the inevitable happened._

_"—Full Metal?!"_

_Roy appeared in the doorway and froze at the scene before him. It only took a mere split second – in the time that Al turned to face to open arch where the newcomer had appeared, that Envy, in Al's slightly slackened grip, stretched his arm—_

_—and scratched across the blood seal that tied Al's soul._

_Vision swimming as it was, it did not stop Ed from seeing the armour giving a jerk; like slow motion, the helmetless armour dropped Envy and slowly, in a graceful sort of way, keeled backwards and crashed onto the floor with an almighty sound. In that awful sound, another was mingled – Ed's strangled cry._

_Roy, horrified at what his appearance had caused, nearly got hit by an oncoming attack from Envy, who slid towards him in the space of time. Instinct for defence over thought took over, and, with a snap of his fingers, Envy erupted in flames._

_Now Envy's screams echoed throughout the cavern – accompanied by more snapping of fingers; Roy took to increasing the flames, guilt once more washing over him._

_The reason for guilt now lay twitching on the floor, and Ed, who was close to where the armour was, could no longer blink back tears. Fighting to remain conscious, he sat up to view the damage Envy had caused – the three smudge lines across the blood seal he had placed years ago, swimming in his vision. A sense of tightness had gripped his stomach… he could barely breathe either. Tears now dropped and mingled with blood, upon the armour that lay twitching. Distantly, Ed could hear Al, though now his voice sounded strangely disembodied, and fading…_

_"…Nii… nii…s..sann…"_

_An armoured hand drifted close to Ed… he could no longer feel his limbs, however, and could not move to touch it. Al… contact between soul and armour going, managed to part Ed's mangled bangs, before he let the arm fall…_

_And touch the red stone._

_In another flash of red light, Ed finally succumbed to loss of blood. No longer seeing, or feeling, the last thing he heard was of Al's voice, slowly fading away into nothingness…_

_"… …nnii… … … …sann…"

* * *

_

A/N: Hi all, I'm sorta back from this extremely long hiatus. As of now it's 3 a.m. in the morning, and I was actually editing the earlier chapters to this story before it came to typing this. I'm really sorry I couldn't keep my promise back then, I was too distracted. But right now, I'm really going to finish this chapter in another 2 more posts. Bear with me, and I'll get it done.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

* * *

He slowly and painfully opened his eyes, eyes that seemed to weigh like a ton, exposing his vision to a sea of white. Rather dazed and unresponsive for the moment, he remained motionless, staring into nothingness. Dust seemed to cover his eyes; it felt like he had been sleeping for such an awfully long time.

After a span of two minutes that seemed like two hours, he suddenly realised he was lying upon a surface. With that, he pushed himself upwards into a sitting position, but not with sparks of pain that shot through his protesting muscles. Exactly how long had he been there?

Drowsily lifting his head, he saw, through his bangs of gold, an endless flow of white. White that seemed to encompass the air, the whole area, and even the surface he was seated upon. There seemed to be no walls, no windows, and no other colours – the only intrusion upon the mass of white was his entire being… no, wait.

As his sense of the surroundings grew, he noticed a strange, but somewhat familiar crimson glow towards the left, behind him, and he slowly craned his neck round to catch its colour. There was no object to behold, but the more he stared into the redness, the more he felt compelled by it. He turned his head back to himself and stared at his legs.

Legs that were both fleshy, alive, with blood running through them.

Though he was hit by a wave of surprise for a reason he could not yet justify, it was quickly dispelled by another thought – could his legs hold him up?

It did. Wobbling slightly, but now standing, he slowly turned to his body to face the different coloured light. Staring at it for a full minute, he let his mind slowly relax. It was coming back to him. Everything.

The stone was everything to them.

With a start, he looked again at his hands and feet. Left foot and right hand that were not made of metal. Where had his auto-mail gone? Where in the world was he?

The stone was everything.

Yes, if he made his way to the stone, he might know. It was everything. He might know what to do once he was in close proximity…

Not at all used to a fleshy left leg, he nearly fell when he struck out his first step. Balancing on his right foot and face scrunched in pain, he slowly reached down to massage the new sensation. It felt like pins and needles, and the more he touched, the more pain he got. He stopped and rested for a while, gazing at the stone in the indiscernible distance. Would he ever get there?

Slowly, the pain diminished. Testing waters once more, he stuck out the same foot, gently placing it in front of him, and found that it supported his weight. Hobbling weirdly, he made his way towards the crimson light, making an effort not to rush, though he could tell his heart wanted to.

Finally reaching the source of the ruby light, he frowned upon it. It had less than half remaining, at least, from what he last remembered. In his memory…

A blinding flash of red light before fading into darkness.

A voice, calling out in the darkness.

Trembling, he slowly shuffled forward to kneel in front of the stone. Touching it sent, once again, sparks down his right arm, the arm which he could now feel. Was he restored, then? The feeling was great. He felt balanced, once again able to feel with both hands, and no longer having the need to counter the metal limb's weight. He felt at ease.

He was in peace.

Although, it did not last long. He clearly remembered the price of peace, a terrible one to pay. Equivalent exchange stood with its foundation shaking; he no longer acknowledged the rule in light of what had happened. The price… both past and present… had been too much. And was there a result?

No. There was no Alphonse with him.

Soul and mind were lost; without them, the body was useless. His surroundings started to fade.

It was entirely his fault.

"…No, Nii-san."

Snapping up from his crouched position, he quickly turned right and focused to where the voice sounded from, finding a familiar figure standing.

Alphonse was looking down on him.

"Nii-san…"

Alphonse calmly walked over to him, and grabbed the kneeling boy by the shoulders, shaking gently. The latter could hardly believe it; he was feeling the touch on both his shoulders. Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Nii-san, it ISN'T your fault." Al brushed away the unshed tears and continued, "Even if it was, it is not entirely yours to bear." He calmly held on to the now shaking shoulders.

The elder Elric could not speak. He merely continued sitting there, trembling with the feeling of wonder and guilt, both crashing in equal measures in his heart. Here was Alphonse, touching him. He could feel his brother once more. What else mattered?

He would gladly stay here.

"NO."

Alphonse pulled away from him. Had his brother heard his own heart? The younger boy stepped back, looking stern for once. A dark look washed over his face; it was very rare for him, even when he was alive. It did catch the attention he needed, though.

"Nii-san, you have to go back."

There was a very long pause in which neither of them moved. Then, miraculously, a voice other than Alphonse's echoed in the hollow white space.

"…A…Al…Alphonse…" His voice crackled from long disuse. He cleared his throat and spoke again.

"…N…No."

Alphonse bent down and cupped his brother's face, speaking into his eyes. "NO, Nii-san. This," indicating the space they were in, "is not for you. You DON'T belong here, Nii-san."

Alphonse stood up.

"…This…is where souls come."

All at once, figures with familiar faces appeared around them. They were all smiling, and at ease.

"This, Nii-san, is the center of peace. Where WE belong."

He knelt by his brother this time. Placing his hand on his elder brother's cheek, he spoke softly.

"Your mind and soul, like us, was brought here, just for the moment. You were trapped in your own mind for so long, I was worried." Alphonse gave a sigh, and continued, "We may not have bodies to return to, but YOU do." The figures around them disappeared save for Al, and he finished his explanation. "You have to go back."

His hand was shaken off; the other Elric was firmly declining. Still using his hoarse voice, the latter croaked, "…you're here and… and whole." He cleared his throat again. "…And… and so am I. I'm staying… here. Where you are." He stretched out his hands and placed them Alphonse's shoulders, helping himself up.

Alphonse could not believe what he just heard. His brother just had to act stubborn now, of all times. Before he could utter another word, the elder of the two had turned away and was facing the stone once more.

"…What else do you think you can do, Nii-san?" He curiously looked at the other boy, who was merely gazing intently into the heart of the stone. "I have no body to return to, and the stone here, like us, is like a fragment of what it is; I'm sure it's not as strong as it would be in reality." He took a step towards his brother, who had not moved since he started staring.

"…Nii-san?"

"…No matter what, I've got to try." Turning to face Alphonse, his golden bangs swishing at the side of his face, he gave Alphonse a look of confidence.

"…I'm…I'm sure if we are in some dimension, there's a 'door' to this place too. And from there, using this stone, we can get out. You and I both." He turned back to the crimson block. Alphonse gave a cry, he reached out for his brother's hand.

"No, Nii-san! Don't you get it? I didn't require the stone to get to you!" That brought a small jerk to the other boy, who turned back in wonder. Alphonse ignored it and continued.

"I got through the gate myself; I just had to see you! And when I found what you had become, I merely wanted to shake you awake!" Alphonse was trembling, fearing what his brother might think of next, so he rushed on. "The gate brought me to the other side, where you were, as I had figured. Please," and he was pulling on the arm his hands had found, "don't sacrifice yourself anymore. You've done enough for the both of us. I did the best I could, too."

When a look of confusion painted across the older boy's face, Alphonse let his hands go. Letting them drop to his side, he explained, unabashed, "When Envy scratched the seal, my soul was torn; I could still move the armour back then, but I had to do something quick. In my own selfishness, I touched the stone; I made myself whole again. And, of course, I restored Amestris a little."

He closed his eyes as he remembered his own trauma – first, the feeling of soul splitting, and wrenching itself from the armour. It felt like he had been physically sliced apart, but yet still retaining a form of conscious, still present. Second, trying to keep a hold on the armour of a body, which felt like grasping for thin air. He had reached for the stone…

He sadly looked at the remainder of the stone. He could only do so much for Amestris before the soul lost contact with armour altogether. Streets and cities were mostly repaired, but the cities and towns on the outskirts were not. Mainly the center areas of Amestris were restored; Resembool, sadly, was near the south-eastern border and the aftermath of the incident saw Pinako and family moving to where they were now.

But it seemed like any form of explanatory was redundant in the ears of his brother; the hot-headed youth was now blazing with hope, a fiery look in his eyes, for he had seen something that Alphonse had not. Without waiting for Alphonse to question, he started reasoning on his own.

"You said there was a gate. If a gate can open here… and that you used the stone, before you… you… before you came here," he stuttered momentarily, "then it must have stuck to you which led it to being here." He gave the stone the deepest glare yet. "…And I can bet you, with a gate being able to open here, there's a chance of it being able to open to the real gate, too. And…" he mentioned off-handedly, "…we can use the stone to–"

"–What are you thinking, Nii-san?!" Alphonse was horror stricken. He stepped away from his brother. "You CAN'T think of opening the gate here!? The… the…" he could not continue, as he remembered the awful tentacles reaching out for him.

"They don't take anything," he merely carried on, as if he had read Alphonse's mind. "If it opens on this end, then, hopefully under my direction, it'll bring us to the real gate. I know the feeling…" His voice paused for a moment, remembering something dark. "…I'll know when we are there. I can guide us."

"Us?!"

"Yes. Us." He looked towards Alphonse, who had all fear evident in his face. "If we can open the gate without the stone, and you could guide yourself to the real world without any sort of price, then I can guide us to the real gate. Hopefully…" his voice softened, "…hopefully the Truth will accept the stone, and give us your body back."

He had thought about it clearly. Unfolding the steps in his mind like a map, he would first make sure of the insignia to open the gate. That would require Al's help. Then, making sure he had the stone and Al with him, he would guide them towards the center, the real gate. Like a spider's web, he had felt it the last time he opened the gate, the second time in his entire life – the real gate lay in the center of everything. And… remembering clearly as though it had just happened, that same time that he had opened the gate… he saw… the skinny, malnourished body of his brother. Hair overgrown for there was no way to cut it, trapped in that void of a dimension still pretty much unknown to all. That body had told him, personally, "You're not my soul. I can't come with you."

That had been when Al was absent; he could not then fathom a way to bring Al's soul there without first dislodging it from the armour safely. But, now, with Al's soul present, whole and with him, he was sure that the body can make it through.

He just hoped for no more set-backs. As long as Al can come back, it mattered not whether he lost another arm, another leg, or internal organs.

Alphonse had been staring at him the whole time. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and echoed eerily through the void.

"…My… my body? I can… I can go back to my body?"

The older boy held his forehead between his thumb and forefinger. Had Alphonse forgotten already? He had told him after the Gluttony incident… And, in any case… He removed his fingers from his face and pointedly ignored the question. They had to try it now, and soon. He suddenly felt there was a time running somewhere… and he did not want them to remain too long in limbo where he himself was unsure what constituted the place.

"Al…" Turning to look at his petrified brother, he threw the words as quickly as he could for the least impact it might have on Alphonse.

"…Al, show me how you open the gate."

000 00 000 00 000

They were more or less ready. The transmutation circle, which could not be drawn out as they had no material whatsoever, was described as fully as possible by Al. Keeping it firmly in mind, the former state alchemist slowly pictured it on the surface at their feet. Kneeling between the red stone and Alphonse, he placed Al's hand fully upon his right wrist, and made it hold on tight. His left hand, he made a tentative touch, drawing out sparks, before getting used to the feel and placing his palm fully onto the hard surface. Alphonse shivered; even though not directly touching, he could feel the stone all the way through his brother's hand. He gave a hesitant look to his left where his brother was.

"Are you sure you can handle the stone?"

"No time worrying about that now; at least, with you holding on, I'm sure both of us can control enough not to use it in the process."

They took a last look at each other before facing the floor. It felt like the beginning of everything. The first time they carried out that failure of a transmutation. They were so naïve back then. Now, they had nothing more to lose. Al took the lead. Placing his hand on the floor to visualise the circle, he sent a mental image running through their hands into his brother's own mind. The latter then placed his palm onto the cold surface, drawing out a great flash of light as the visualised circle glowed distinctly on the floor, and sparks flew from it.

Before either knew it, they were in the clutches of many arms. Pulsating black hands grabbed them from every corner. Both of them were panting – the stone was glowing, flickering faster and faster, and although the glow kept the arms away from it, it meant that it was getting harder to control. Both boys held on to each other tight – Alphonse first noticed the directional waves in the sea of arms.

"…Nii… Nii-san… over there…" He indicated with his free arm.

They made their way through the black jungle; they were now using the stone to push their way forward, but at the same time, controlling to their best effort not to utilise the stone. Following the flow, they headed to where the core of the arms were, the center of it all. Alphonse felt his brother's arm tremble; he looked worriedly to his left. His brother seemed tense, and was staring at the heart of the jumbled mess they were in.

"…This is it."

At those words, the heart seemingly split open; as the blackness pulled apart, some white showed through. As it further stretched, it became a gigantic eye. The same eye that both brothers had seen; the same eye that took everything from them. They stared at the eye, and the eye stared back.

Now, a new set of arms reached from behind the eye and grabbed them all. The tangle of arms started to break their souls apart, but there was hardly a look of worry from either of the brothers' faces. It was inevitable. They shut their eyes simultaneously.

Sure enough, when they reopened them, they were in another realm, a realm that both were sure they had been, once before. They finally let go of their firm grips and took a look around.

Strangely enough, there were now four giant doors. One of which was right behind them, and Alphonse assumed that was the door they just emerged from. There was one on the right, and one straight ahead.

And the door on the left…

"…Th-that's…!!!" Alphonse took a step forward.

"Yea, Al," replied his brother, who was standing where he was, staring in turn at all doors, and processing some inner thought. "…That's you."

He shook his head and seemingly thrashed out his thoughts from his mind. Walking to the side of Alphonse, he took a deep sigh of relief. From the distance, seated down, the body of Alphonse turned around to look at the newcomers. Seeing Alphonse's soul, however, its eyes widened, and it slowly stood up.

Alphonse was shocked at the state of his body. It was so thin, and bones were obviously showing up in places on taut skin. Unkempt hair, running past the waist, were tossed back as body-Al tried to get a better look.

Alphonse took more steps towards it.

"That's… that's my…"

"…Yeesss… That IS your body, silly."

Both brothers looked around for the source of the third voice; the Truth had finally joined them. Alphonse gave a shout of surprise; having turned his head back front, he jumped in shock he came face to face with the presence of the Truth, who seemingly appeared in a matter of split-seconds. Alphonse stumbled a few feet back; his brother rushed in front of him and struck out a star pose, wanting to protect his little brother.

"…Oh? Look who have we here! TWO friends of mine! How absolutely NICE to see you once again!" The Truth gave a truly hollow chuckle. "Care to spare me more of your limbs again? Though I don't actually have many choices left, do I?"

Alphonse gave a start. "Nii… Nii-san, your arm, and… leg…"

The former state alchemist could hardly be bothered; he glared with loathing at the humanoid shape in front of him. The humanoid shape that possessed his right arm and left foot. He felt his metallic foot scrape the ground as he took to a firmer pose.

"Oh, no, no, no…" The Truth faked a sad face; although, without any facial features, all they could tell was from the gap in the space that seemed to be its mouth. The Truth walked away from the duo, and placed some distance between itself and the brothers before settling down.

"…Don't get so uptight and tense now, lil' alchemist!" A twitch in golden eyebrows. "Oh! You don't like that now, my bad." It gave another hollow chuckle. "I'm telling you, I'm really glad you guys showed up. It's been a while since YOU came in, but, the same can't be said for the soul behind you."

Alphonse gave a gasp; his brother's pose slackened as the older boy threw a question back at the entity.

"…Wait, what do you mean by that?" He turned back to look at Alphonse. "You came here here before? When?"

Alphonse was all a blur.

"…I… I don't know…"

Another chuckle from the Truth brought the Elrics' attention back to their front. The entity slowly brought itself to its feet.

"Of COURSE he doesn't know!" The Truth slowly made its way towards them; instinct from the elder Elric made him bring his arms up again. "That dear boy had his memory taken as a price, trying to sneak around me like that." It paused, somewhere in front of the brothers. "Too bad I could only take that little bit, however; nothing much you can get from a soul but its data."

The Truth turned around and walked back to where Al's body was standing. "And that," continuing his speech, "can be considered its memory."

Alphonse gave a slight shiver. He realised he himself was no more solid than the Truth itself, and he glided past his brother, who dropped his arms in surprise.

"What ELSE did you take from me? What other memories have you obtained?"

The Truth did not chuckle, but put on a serious face. In a flash, it disappeared, and only its voice could be heard echoing around the dimension.

"…Say… I don't know… Why don't you try recalling something?" An evil cackle followed, and it resounded all around.

"STOP screwing around!" The golden haired Elric had shouted. The echoes ate into the evil laughter and for a moment, both brothers could hear nothing but the last bits of the yell reverberating in the distance.

"…SURE…" Alphonse gave a second shout and moved away, for the voice had sounded directly in his left ear, and there was the Truth again. The entity was serious now; it made its way to the other being in the void, and addressed him alone.

"Let's stop screwing around, then. What do YOU want?" It appeared to stare into the eyes of the boy. "I could tell you what I took, no problem, and, surely… you know there's a price," it encircled the youth, like evaluating its prey, "for everything else that you ask for…"

"Sure hell I know, and I want to know," came a fast reply, and the boy never took his golden eyes off the stalking entity. "When did Al come in here? How much of his memory did you take from him?"

"…And?"

"And here's my request – I want that body back." He indicated Al's body, still rooted to the same spot in the distance.

The Truth looked round at what the boy was pointing at, and gave a hoot of laughter.

"HAH! That?! You want that? For what?! Surely YOU are not the one to make the request?!" It turned towards the other Elric, and now addressed the soul. "You, I'm sure, are the one who needs it, don't you?" It zipped towards Alphonse in a flash, giving the poor soul another shock.

"Come on; tell me the request. Say it. Say what you want." It seemed to make Alphonse feel like he was a small kid.

Alphonse looked dubiously at the entity, then looked to his brother for advice, only to see an irate look upon that face. He knew he had to be careful; the Truth was sly.

"…I, I want… my body back." It came out as a mutter.

"Sorry? I didn't quite catch you. Say it again, say it again~" The entity was toying with him. Alphonse now got irritated too.

"I said I want my body back!" Even that sounded really loud in his ears. The Truth chuckled once more.

"Good!! VERY good! Let me see," It paced around Alphonse, who now took to staring at the encircling being. "Let me see… You want your body back!... Hmm… Well now…"

It strode away from the boy's soul and walked behind the body of the Alphonse. It threw its arms, one of flesh and one of pure energy, around the shoulders.

"…Hmmm. Nope. Sorry." It enjoyed the look of pure fury on the brothers' faces. "No can do."

"WHAT do you mean by that!"

"Simple, shorty." The Truth appeared in an instant, near the former state alchemist. "No, means NO."

"But we are going to offer something in return!" cried Alphonse, whose soul was now quivering in confusion.

"WE?!" The Truth turned towards Alphonse then, and scornfully continued. "We?! The request came from you! I would have to take something from you! And sadly," it turned away from Alphonse, "you have nothing else to offer." It went back to the Al's body and pulled it so that they both sat down. It started stroking the head of the body. "Not that your memories are… fascinating…"

It looked at the soul of Alphonse, who was now shaking visibly, and continued speaking. "You came sneaking around, trying to get out, didn't you? From your plane to this plane; that's your door over there." It inclined its head to the door on their right. A flash of realisation played across both Elrics' faces; the Truth chuckled. "And from what I've just seen, I pretty much guess that you've understood. YES, you guys create a new door each time you come in here. That's proof of toll you gotta pay. And…" It focused on stroking the hair of the soulless body again. "You really have nothing to offer."

"WAIT!" The older Elric cried out. The entity stopped stroking. The boy pointed at the red stone that was some distance behind them all.

"We are offering that! That is the Philosopher's stone! It's…" he suddenly faltered, as if he came to realise another matter, "…it's… highly… pursued… and valuable… …" He broke off.

"…Highly valuable and rare in YOUR world, if that's what you're trying to say." The entity hit the nail on the head. The golden haired youth flinched. "What ever can I do with that? It means nothing to me." It continued stroking. Al's body never moved, but its eyes were following the moving body of the other Elric, who had made his way to the stone.

Touching it, he broke off a small piece. There was nothing else he could do, but keep moving forward. He turned around and moved towards the seated entity and his brother's body; he had to try.

Reaching them, he held out the hand that had the stone piece. The Truth cocked its head to the side; it stuck out the fleshy arm that once belonged to the boy standing before it, and caught hold of the red piece that the boy released. On instant contact, a small burst of red light resulted in a reaction in the Truth's entity; it sprouted an eye. It looked eerily weird, and at the same time funny, for there was no socket to contain the eyeball. Instead, it was merely hanging and revolving in one part of the head of the being. The Truth smiled then.

"Oh HO… so that's what it can give me." It stood up from the soulless body and made its way to the stone. Reaching forth a finger, it touched the stone, a little. One ear appeared on the right side of the head. It turned back towards the Elrics.

"Just to reassure you, I didn't take much from him," it spoke, indicating Alphonse. "Like I said, there's nothing much I can gain from a soul, and, memories are worthless to me." It turned back to the stone.

"This, coming from the two of you, fine. I accept." The brothers heaved a sigh of relief on two accounts.

"But."

The Elrics looked sharply at the entity; it was grinning madly now, with a distinct mouth in its place. It was slowly gaining parts of a human body, and from the way different organs were popping up, it was hard to keep a steady watch over it. The entity now used the new mouth to speak, retaining its own hollow voice.

"Coming from the TWO of you… it means you are sharing. That's… not going to be enough."

The entity had finished absorbing the stone; it was quite a sight to look at. Mismatched skin colours indicated different body parts having belonged to a different human, and it had one black and one green pupil for eyes. Overall, it seemed like a patchwork. But the entity minded not. Some parts were evidently missing; the stone was not enough to render it a full body. It was, ironically, still missing a right leg. And hair. If Alphonse was sure, there were bound to be missing organs within the body of the Truth as well. Nonetheless, the entity took a deep breath; smiling, it addressed the brothers once more.

"Ahh… that's how breathing feels like. And… no," picking up from where it had left off earlier, "it's not enough. Soul data, I refuse to take." It turned away from the boy's soul, and eyed instead the fleshy leg of the elder Elric brother.

"But… I could really do with a proper right leg."

"NO!!"

Alphonse cried out, his own hollow voice sounding throughout the dimension. "No! I can't have you sacrificing yourself, Nii-san! Not again!" He glided towards his brother who was not looking at him but at the Truth, contemplating. "Nii-san!!!" He hovered in his brother's gaze. "Stop thinking about it! No, Nii-san!"

"Well I say it's a yes, judging your brother's reaction." The Truth had dragged the soulless body towards them. "Well, here it is. I accept the exchange." It pushed the body towards the older Elric, who caught the frail figure.

"No, Nii-san, don't accept it! I can't have you do—hey?!"

Alphonse could barely finish his sentence, for his brother had held out a hand of his own body and stuck it through his soul. For a still moment, nothing happened. Then, like a vacuum, Alphonse's soul spun, sucked back into his own body. Instincts always on the dot, the elder Elric gently held the frail body, for it had gone rigid during the merger. The eyes of his brother, now in flesh, were closed. He carefully watched, as said eyes slowly fluttered, and opened. Golden eyes stared into brown; the latter's become wet with tears and a soft voice came from the frail being, only both could hear.

"Nii…san…"

But Alphonse was still frail; being the older brother, he heaved Alphonse onto his back, like a big brother would, and faced the Truth again. Alphonse could not protest; his now weak body prevented him from either shouting or stopping his brother.

"As promised, you can have my leg." He gave the entity a look of pure repugnance, and watched carefully. The Truth looked at two of them, a strange light in its face. The golden haired youth took a wary step back.

"…Yea… but, you know…" Behind them the gates had already opened; without warning, hands started grabbing them again. The elder Elric struggled; the arms were pulling Alphonse from him and at him as well.

"…I was suddenly thinking…" The look on the Truth's face was madly distorted now – smiling horridly, it chuckled, "…I actually HATE how perfect he's gonna get outta here. Now that he's valuable once more…" A bigger arm came out of nowhere and grabbed Alphonse's leg. The weak body could not do a thing about it.

"…I think I'll take HIS leg, instead!" The entity erupted in evil laughter. A clap sounded in the chaos; the former state alchemist transmuted the arm that had hooked around Alphonse's leg.

"You'll NOT disfigure him AGAIN!" roared the alchemist, and with the agility from the past, he picked up Alphonse and ran for the door.

"Oh… not so fast…" The Truth gave his mismatched fingers a snap; the gate started to close. Throwing all caution to the wind, he looked down at his little brother in his arms as he ran.

"Al… I'll see you on the other side."

And with that, he tossed Alphonse's body through the closing gate. Alphonse had no time to respond before the gate closed with a loud boom; the remaining Elric fell to his knees. Picking himself up, he turned and glared into the eyes of the Truth. It calmly stared back, mouth still grinning.

"…You scum."

The alchemist could no longer hold in his anger. He launched himself at the truth. However, his drawn back fist was easily caught by the other being; he later found himself flying towards the door that had just closed and landed hard against the floor. Slowly picking himself up once more, he could barely get his legs straight when he was slammed against the door itself. The entity was gripping him hard by the hair – he felt several strands part ways with his scalp.

"…Scum, am I? I am EVERYTHING." It used the other hand and held the struggling Elric by the neck, nearly lifting the poor boy off his feet. "You have angered me, but no matter." It placed a hand on the boy's right leg, and gave it a squeeze.

"…No matter." It repeated, and the gates opened again. Once more, a large hand appeared and grabbed the same leg as the Truth relinquished the hold on the boy.

As Edward Elric disappeared through the gates, the entity stood grinning madly.

As the gates snapped shut once more, a new leg materialised and merged itself with the patchwork of a body on the body of the Truth.

"I STILL claimed my price…"

* * *

A/N: Sorry, this thing actually took 11 Word-doc pages, and at font size 9 too! It's really long, I hope I didn't get carried away, but still, it's finally up. One more chapter, and this story is done. I'm really, really sorry it took so long. 5000+ words. Enjoy.


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